Paul Spies

Biography

Dr. Spies joined Metropolitan State University in 2001 as one of three founding faculty of the Urban Teacher Program. As a professor in the School of Urban Education, Dr. Spies has served as department chair for six years, and Urban Education Graduate Programs Coordinator for six years, and Urban Secondary Education Programs Coordinator for 15 years, and Assessment System Coordinator for nine years. He has also served as the co-chair of the Metro State’s Anti-Racism Leadership Team and Anti-Racism Coalition for several years, including playing a key role in several campus climate survey reports as well as gaining approval and implementing the University’s Racial Issues Graduation Requirement.

Paul earned his PhD at University of Wisconsin-Madison. His dissertation focused on The Dynamics of Implementing and Sustaining Interdisciplinary Teams in Departmentalized High Schools: A Comparative Case Study of Challenges and Support. His teaching and research focus is school restructuring and anti-racist education which is grounded in his experiences as a high school social studies teacher and teacher leader in diverse urban and suburban schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. Paul is a co-founder of the Coalition to Increase Teachers of Color and American Indian Teachers in Minnesota, and has served as the legislative action team lead for the Coalition since 2016 advocating for the Increase Teachers of Color Act.